The pressure is on for Sledgehammer Games as they take on development responsibilities for the next entry in the mega-popular shooter series, Call of Duty.

With Advanced Warfare, the studio aims to deliver on that familiar Call of Duty experience while putting their own spin on things.

“We really look closely at a lot of different things,” Senior development director Aaron Halon told GameInformer. “The pacing is different, things that are – there’s very core things that Call of Duty [does] that won’t change: 60 frames per second, the moments and things in it that are very memorable in the game. But our take on it – our spin on it is different.”

Sledgehammer co-founder Michael Condrey explained, “Yeah, we’re really looking forward to sharing more because we think we have some meaningful way to make this franchise feel like it’s got its Sledgehammer mark on it.” Fellow co-founder Glen Schofield expressed his appreciation for the sort of creative freedom the studio was handed while taking on the project. “We approached this like we would any new IP,” he said. “I mean, this has been one heck of a creative challenge. I mean, everything is brand new in the game.”

As Schofield said earlier, Advanced Warfare will bring “some pretty big experiments to the core mechanics that’ll effect multiplayer and every mode of the game.”

Later in the interview, GameInformer asked Halon what sort of message the development team might have for fans worried about the introduction of a new studio in the Call of Duty development cycle.

LOL yeah I thought the same but tbh I’m anxious and hopefull. I want this CoD to be epic. I mean, I’m paying right? Of course I want it to be as epic as possible!

awkenney

I’m interested to see what Sledgehammer can do. They had a very slim timeframe to get MW3 out the door. It wasn’t a spectacular product, but it was playable and IMO it provided better multiplayer experiences than either Black Ops II or Ghosts.

Mr. Thuggins

Agreed. MW3 was the last CoD I truly put a lot of time into and really enjoyed, even though it took awhile for the lag/net code, or whatever the hell you want to call it, to get fixed.

Scavenger of Human Sorrow

And the thing is, I’m not worrying about Advanced Warfare. I’ve said it before, if Sledgehammer try something ‘different’ with Call of Duty (and from what we are hearing they are, they are even saying ‘different’) and fail, that’s still something positive. As long as they are pushing CoD forward with new ideas, something like Black Ops 2 even though the balance of the multi-player was off. It still was positive overall. Infinity Ward unfortunately, the poor souls, seem to forgot how to do anything right.

Just be yourselves and try YOUR thing, and if there is effort, I’m sure the community will be behind you.

MegaMan3k

An extra year in the oven means that much more money spent which means that much less risk in the final product. (forgot Activision’s likely point of view)

Call of Duty isn’t really in a position for “high risk = high reward”. They’re not trying to be a disruptive game changer. They’re trying to keep people from leaving the franchise. That’s it.

lukazo

this is what im worried about, opposite to you, and that is, when they say everything’s “new” and “different” just how new and different is this game?

what i mean is activison stated cod ghosts was “re-imagined” and “new” yet it was THE WORST call of duty in history.

if sledgehammer have been given free riegn without activision sticking there noses in and been aloud to get creative this could be an amazing game.

im worried activision will have pushed them, and gave them rules to follow.

let all hope this isnt the case and sledgehammers creativity will pay off!

MegaMan3k

How to make the best Call of Duty for hard core gamers:
1. Remove all the fluff. This means scale down the number of kill streaks, attachments, camos, perks, explosives, ‘gadgets’ etc.
2. Remove all the cosmetic fluff. This means remove outrageous player models, outrageous paintball esque face masks and colors, camos, etc.
3. Increase recoil.
4. Increase lethality but increase difficulty of achieving it. Recoil is part of this. Guns should be highly lethal if, and only if, the player maintains accurate fire on a target.
5. Reduce bullet penetration and/or make its implementation more logical and its gameplay mechanic more transparent.
6. Reduce movement speed.

How to make best Call of Duty for most sales:
1. Do the opposite of everything listed above.

CoDforever

The game is bult for consoles with controllers, why would they increase recoil? The game is catered to casuals, not hardcore FPS players. They have Counterstrike, Battlefied etc

MegaMan3k

Battlefield. Hardcore.

Huehuehuehuehue

CoDforever

Well, more than CoD thats for sure, I played it on console and the recoil is too much to control

MegaMan3k

Oh god. Coming face to face with the death of Call of Duty. Right here. I don’t know how to act.

Yevgenij Pekurovskyy

hardcore gaming… get a life for fucks sake

MegaMan3k

Awwwww, adorable.

Yevgenij Pekurovskyy

Sorry dude, but i’m really sick of all this “hardcore gamer- elitist” bullshit. All cod devs need to do is to fix the game and make it like cod 4 and black ops

MegaMan3k

Teehee. If you could think critically you’d see my post is describing mechanisms to do that. Teehee. Adorable. :3

Yevgenij Pekurovskyy

its called “How to make the best Call of Duty for hard core gamers” Adding recoil and making it harder to play is not the way to fix it. Its balance and performance issues that should be improved to make the game work how it should work

MegaMan3k

If you want it more like MW and BO then you need the recoil and “harder to play.” Raising the skill gap is good!

Thanks for contributing!

awkenney

I’m totally not for pushing the game to be innovative.
I want “roots.” I want the campaign to finally get back to being a reasonably believable tribute to military operations instead of this hollywood cinematic nonsense. I want the multiplayer to go back to FPS basics. Eliminate the perk, killstreak, weapon and achievement “bloat” and go back to the 3-killstreak system. Simpler, more competitive FPS games are successful for a reason, and it’s not because the game reinvents the wheel.

BRUCE LEEROY

Then play MOH

thebulky1cometh

I agree, to a point. I hate the idea of COD becoming some crazy futuristic mashup of Halo/Crysis/Titanfall. On the other hand, I think the perk/killstreaks have become too big of a part of COD to completely wipe them out.

I will say this- I recently played my first BF game with BF4 (been a COD guy since MW2), and I kinda feel deflated whenever I go on a nice little killstreak in BF4 and there’s no “reward” for doing so. Maybe I’ve just become so used to the idea of killstreaks due to playing COD. Regardless, count me as a fellow cod fan who is against a radical change. In this case, some change could be good…but reinventing the wheel could produce the final nail in cod’s coffin.

ROCKMONEY

With all the Tanks,Jets, and Choppers in Battlefield you are the killstreak…

dpg70

And that is much more satisfying than pushing a button on your armband

CoDforever

ahaaa getting 5 kills in like 10 min with those vehicles is not “You are the killstreak”

Just saying

I feel sorry that your first BF game is BF4 as it’s the worst of them all in gameplay aspects but in visuals, it’s a masterpiece but again that doesn’t matter in a MP FPS like gameplay mechanics.

MrMultiPlatform

I think this will be the best CoD to-date. Will I be buying it? FUCK NO!!! The community will still be there.

Brandon Griffin

What exactly has SH done to make you think this will be the best COD?

MrMultiPlatform

Didn’t say it was the best. I said I think it will be.

Brandon Griffin

I asked why you think this. They have given no gameplay or info about how the game will work.

MrMultiPlatform

AW is not sledgehammers first game.

Grif

So you really like AW and you think it’s going to be the best CoD, yet your not going to buy it?

MrMultiPlatform

The community will still be there.

Ricardo

He has a point a game can be GREAT! But the way the community plays online reflects how good it is. Look at MW2 good game but after the community found out all the exploits they used them making online a rage fest.

SubXero

Players have ruined many good games over the years.

Brandon Griffin

Let’s be honest, if the game has that many exploitable features was it ever really good? Fun, perhaps

Grif

I don’t think anyone was worried about Sledgehammer making the next CoD, I think we’re all excited!

Samson

Already apologizing for a game this far before release isn’t a good sign.

Joshua C

I remain cautiously optimistic. I need to see more actual gameplay and multiplayer details/gameplay before making the final decision.

I will believe them when I see it and the reviews. Otherwise, it is just empty talk for the purpose of creating hype, more hype and then some more. The same stuff as always.

SubXero

You’ll believe them when you see the reviews?… Unless it’s unplayable garbage it’s bound to score about as well as every other Call of Duty. I wouldn’t place any stock in the reviews for this franchise.

Leon

Players’ reviews and not paid reviews.

SubXero

Honestly, I wouldn’t trust those either.

Leon

I that case, I should trust no-one. Why shall I trust you then? What makes you so special?

SubXero

I didn’t say you should trust me lol. I was partially joking but I find you won’t get a “real” opinion on Call of Duty from the majority of players until at least a few weeks in. There’s always the “honeymoon phase” with Call of Duty where the vast majority of players love it for the first few weeks before the hype wears off and they’re able to look at the game objectively.

xHDx

I am more doubtful but still more optimistic compared to last years release. The studio’s first take on a full scale COD game and what looks like a new engine, though, they only upgraded it in the last game so I can’t see it being renewed.

Am I the only one who is reminded of the Helicopters out of Avatar film when I see those helicopters in the COD:AW trailer? I can feel another copy and paste coming on here…

Mike

If they fail doing something different, I might actually like the game but why do anything different and risk failure when kids and adults buy basically the same game every year with a new face lift.